Fantasy basics
Updated October 2026
What is a fantasy team? In team fantasy, it’s real teams.
In most fantasy games, a fantasy team is a roster of individual players, scored on their stats. In team-based fantasy, your fantasy team is a handful of real teams instead: NBA teams, NFL franchises, NHL teams, college programs or soccer clubs. When they win, you score.
What is a fantasy team in regular fantasy sports?
In the classic version, you pick individual players, set a lineup, and earn points from what they do in games, like yards, catches or rebounds. That is the picture most people have when they say “fantasy team.” It works well if you love digging into stats.
What is a fantasy team in team-based fantasy?
Team-based fantasy keeps the fantasy and drops the stat sheet. You draft whole real teams, and each one scores when it wins. Your fantasy team might be a few NBA teams, a handful of NFL franchises or a group of college programs. If you can pick a team to root for, you know how to build one.
Most fantasy games
- You draft: individual players
- You score: from their stats
- Each week: set a lineup
Team-based fantasy
- You draft: real teams
- You score: when they win
- Each week: nothing to set, just watch
How does team-based fantasy work in each sport?
Same idea everywhere: draft real teams and score when they win. Here is what you pick and how each sport scores.
NBA fantasy teams
Whole NBA teams, not individual players.
A regular-season win is 1 point. Playoff wins rise from 2 to 5 points, plus a champion bonus.
30 NBA teams to choose from. Live Draft groups of 2 to 7.
NBA fantasy basketballNFL fantasy teams
Whole NFL franchises.
Wins earn points. Playoff wins are worth more by round.
32 NFL franchises to choose from. Live Draft groups of 2 to 8.
NFL fantasy footballNHL fantasy teams
Whole NHL teams.
Wins earn points. Playoff wins are worth more as the rounds advance.
32 NHL teams to choose from. Live Draft groups of 2 to 8.
NHL fantasy hockeyCollege football fantasy teams
Whole college programs.
Wins earn points, and beating a ranked team earns more.
138 college programs to draft from. Live Draft groups of 2 to 12.
College football fantasyCollege basketball fantasy teams
Whole college programs, men's or women's.
Wins earn points, and beating a ranked team earns more. Tournament wins climb by round.
Men's and women's programs.
College basketball fantasySoccer fantasy teams
Whole clubs, not individual players.
A club win earns 3 points, a draw 1, a loss 0. Finishing top three in the real table pays a bonus.
The Premier League has 20 clubs.
Soccer fantasyHow does a fantasy team score? A quick example
Example
You drafted two NBA teams, Boston and Denver.
- Tuesday: Boston wins a regular-season game. You score 1 point.
- Wednesday: Denver loses. Nothing is added.
- That is the whole job. No lineup to set, no stat sheet to read, no waiver wire.
A made-up league, using the NBA scoring line above. Once the playoffs start, each win is worth more.
Why is team-based fantasy simpler?
No lineups, waivers or trades
Once your teams are picked, you follow along. There is nothing to set before game time.
No stat sheet
A win is the scoreboard everyone in the building is already watching.
More rooting, fewer decisions
If you can pick a team to root for, you know how to build a fantasy team.
Easy for the casual half of the group
The person who only watches the big games can play right alongside the one who watches everything.
Is a fantasy team different in golf, tennis and F1?
Yes. Those sports are not played by teams, so your fantasy team is the athletes themselves, because they are what wins. In golf you pick individual golfers from one tournament field. In tennis, players from one tournament field. In F1, Formula 1 drivers for one race weekend.
How do you play with a team-based fantasy team?
Pick a sport, then pick a game. You start a Live Draft, Salary Cap or Tiers league for your group, on the sports that offer each one.
Live Draft
You and your group take turns picking real teams, and each team goes to just one person.
How a snake draft worksTiers
Start a private Tiers league for your group. No draft: everyone picks a set number of teams from each tier, on their own time.
How to start a fantasy league · Fantasy leagues with friends · What is fantasy football?
Why Windom Sports
- You draft what can win. Whole teams in team sports. The golfer, the player or the driver in golf, tennis and racing. Never a stat line.
- Root for the scoreboard. When your teams win, you score. That is the thing you were already cheering for.
- A format built for each sport. Each sport gets a game that fits how it is actually played.
- Free for everyone. That includes whoever runs the league.
- Built for right now. Draft once and just read the email updates, or connect ChatGPT or Claude and make picks from there in select leagues. See the connectors
Fantasy team questions, answered
What is a fantasy team?
In most fantasy games, a fantasy team is a roster of individual players that scores from their stats. In team-based fantasy, your fantasy team is a handful of real teams, such as NBA teams, NFL franchises, NHL teams, college programs or soccer clubs, and you score when they win.
Is team-based fantasy easier?
It has fewer moving parts. There are no lineups, waivers or trades to manage, and you do not need to know player stats. You still have to pick well, which is the fun part, but the scoreboard you root for is the one you already watch.
Do I pick players or teams?
Teams, in football, basketball, hockey, college sports and soccer. In golf, tennis and F1 you pick the athletes themselves (golfers, tennis players and drivers) from one event's field, because they are the ones who win.
How many teams do I draft?
It depends on the sport and the size of your group. In a Live Draft each real team goes to only one person, so a bigger group means fewer teams each. For example, an eight-person NFL league drafts four of the 32 franchises each.
Is it free?
Yes. Free to play and free to host, including for whoever runs the league.
Build your first fantasy team.
Pick a sport, invite your friends, and draft real teams. Free to play, free to host.
See what’s open nowWindom Sports is not affiliated with any league, team or club named on this page.